A private school in the San Francisco Bay Area really wanted to recruit a baseball star to go to their school and play on their team. But it completely dropped its pursuit when they learned that his parents are gay.

Rising high-school freshman Caleb Degala-Burnett and his dads, Mike Degala and Master Burnett, claim that coaches and administrators at Valley Christian, in Dublin, California, were impressed with the 14-year-old outfielder’s performance at a recent invite-only showcase and with his ranking as a college prospect and potential pro draft pick, according to the San Francisco Standard. The family says Valley Christian courted Caleb this past spring, going so far as to offer financial assistance to help cover the school’s $24,000-per-year tuition.

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In a March 5 text message, Valley Christian’s baseball coach told Degala that “Caleb’s name came up last night a few times and we really want him to be a part of a great school,” according to The Standard. In a separate text, vice executive of schools Joe Fuca reportedly told Degala that Valley Christian was “all in” on Caleb “playing varsity baseball for us next year.”

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But Degala says the school’s tune abruptly changed in April, when Fuca told him that the Degala-Burnett family didn’t align with the school’s Christian values. Degala says Fuca also expressed concern that the school would “lose supporters” if it enrolled Caleb.

“I felt angry about it, because it really shouldn’t matter what your family is,” Caleb told The Standard. “It should matter about the student and how they are as a person.”

“I’ve never, to this magnitude, experienced this type of discrimination against our family,” Degala told the paper. “In this day and age, it’s crazy.”

However, as The Standard notes, it in fact remains legal for private schools to discriminate against students based on their sexuality or the sexual orientation of their parents. When the paper polled 10 Bay Area Christian high schools, only one responded saying it would accept LGBTQ+ students or students whose parents are LGBTQ+. Among those that did not respond, only one explicitly bans homophobia in its student handbook and employment policies. The paper cited four other Bay Area Christian high schools that explicitly reject homosexuality and same-sex marriage in their materials.

“It’s legal on paper; it’s not morally right,” Equality California communications director Jorge Reyes Salinas said. “This is unacceptable regardless of the school’s private or religious status.”

Responding to The Standard’s story, out California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) blasted Valley Christian’s treatment of the Degala-Burnett family as “absolutely vile.”

“This kid just wants to go to school & play baseball. He’s a top talent. Yet, the school rejected him explicitly because his parents are gay,” Wiener, who represents San Francisco, wrote in a June 17 Bluesky post. “This kind of hatred is now escalating under our bigoted federal administration.” He added that the president “is giving permission for this poison.”

As for the Degala-Burnetts, Caleb now plans to attend a local public high school in the fall. Degala says Valley Christian’s rejection of his son is “their loss.” And Caleb remains curious about Christianity. He described the experience with Valley Christian as “just one little setback.”

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